Method for treating poultry



P 1963 v. c. ALMQUIST 3,103,697

METHOD FOR TREATING POULTRY Original Filed 00tl, 1958 United StatesPatent 3,103,697 METHGD F012 TREA'HNG POULTRY Vernon C. Almquist,Western Springs, ilk, assignor, by mesne assignments, to Armour andCompany, (lineage, ill., a corporation of Delaware Original applicationOct. 1, 11958, Ser. No. 764,561, now Patent No. 3,04l,658, dated July 3,1962. Divided and this application May 9, 1962, Ser. No. 193,564

4 claims. or. 17-4-5 This invention relates to a method and apparatusfor treating poultry prior to the defeathering operation. Moreparticularly, the invention provides an improved apparatus and methodfor multiple scalding which allows a more rapid and complete removal offeathers from the wings and necks of poultry.

This application is a division of application Serial Number 764,561,filed October 1, 1958 which is now Patent Number 3,041,658, issued July3, 1962.

it has been customary, in commercial poultry picking or defeatheringoperations, to loosen the feathers prior to picking by immersing thepoultry in hot water at a predetermined scalding temperature. The easeof feather removal is roughly proportional to the temperature of thewater used; that is, the higher the water temperature, the easier itwill be to remove feathers in the defeathering operation. But usingwater at high temperature has a drawback in that the mechanical pickerscommonly used in commercial operations will bark or remove outer layersof skin of the poultry, thereby spoiling the appearance of the bird andmaking it easier for bacteria to enter the bird, contributing to ashorter shelf life for the product. Also improved feeds and breedingtechniques have permitted poultry growers to market birds having verytender meat, which makes it even less desirous to use water at thehigher scalding temperatures. For these reasons it has been the practiceto use water at a temperature which will not result in any appreciableskin damage when the birds are subjected to mechanical pickers. Usingmodern commercial picking machines, this practice has provedsatisfactory in removing most of the feathers of poultry, yet adifficulty still remains in removing the feathers from the neck andwings. Because of the heavy feather covering on the wing area, highertemperature water can be employed to scald the wing portion withoutserious consequences.

in commercial operations, it is of course desired that the head, neckand wing scalding operation be practiced on a production line basis.However, when the birds are hung from their legs on a conveyor line andpassed over a tank of scalding water, difiiculty is encountered becauseof the fact that the birds vary in length. Some birds are so long that aportion of the breast passes through the hot water, resulting in barkingof this area of the breast when subjected to the mechanical pickers.Then again, other birds are so short that portions of the wings do notpass through the hot water making it ditficult to remove the feathers inthe unscalded areas.

According to the preferred practice of the present invention, thepoultry is first totally immersed in a water bath, the water being at atemperature which will not cause barking" when the poultry is latersubjected to mechanical pickers. Thereafter, the head, neck and wings ofthe bird are immersed in a second hot water bath having a substantiallyhigher scalding temperature than the bath in which the entire bird wasimmersed. By using this method, feathers around the neck and those ofthe wings are additionally treated, and when the poultry is thereafterplaced in automatic picking machines, all of the feathers will bequickly and easily removed, greatly minimizing the amount of additionaltreatment by hand.

Therefore, it is an object of this invention to provide a method andapparatus for scalding the head, neck and wing portions, only, ofpoultry, so as to elhciently loosen all feathers in this area, yet notdamage the skin of other portions of the bird.

Another object of the invention is to provide a method and apparatus forscalding the head, neck and wing portions, only, of poultry of varyinglengths, without the concommitant deleterious effects of scalding waterto the skin of the breast of the poultry.

This invention will be more fully understood from the followingdescription in connection with the accompanying drawings in which:

FIG. 1 is a plan view of the scalding tank illustrating one means formaintaining the head, neck and wings only, of poultry beneath thesurface of the water.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the scalding tank structure.

FIG. 3 is an end elevational view of the device, showing a bird,suspended by its legs from an overhead conveyor, passing through thescalding tank structure.

In the drawings, the numeral 11 designates a conveyor system fortransferring the bird on a production line basis, made up of trolleys 12which ride on a track 13. The conveyor system is operated by a source ofpower not shown in the drawings. A detachable shackle 14 is used tosecure the bird 15 to the conveyor system.

Following removal of the poultry from the total immersion tank, thepoultry pass through the head-neck wing scalder unit A. This unit ismade up of a conventional scald tank 16, substantially parallel, spacedguide bars 17 and 18, having ends19 and 28* flared outwardly andupwardly to allow the head, neck and wings of the.

bird to drop into the heated water 21. The guide bars are attached tosupporting arms 22, 23, -24 and 25, which in turn are attached to theside bar supports 26 and 27 by means of couplings 2.8, 29, 30 and 31,welded to the side bar supports. The side bar supports are attached tothe tank sides by means of couplings 32, 33, 64: and 35, which may bewelded to the tank sides. At that end of the tank where the birds are tobe removed from the hot water, the guide bars have outwardly flared endportions 36 and 37 to facilitate release of the wings 38 and for easyremoval of the birds from the tank.

The couplings are provided with set screws 39 to ad just and hold theguide bars in any of a multitude of positions. It will be seen that ifthe tension on coulings 28, 29, 30' and 31, is released by opening theset screws, the distance between the guide bars can be varied.

In a like manner vertical adjustment of the guide bars is obtained byopening the set screws on couplings 32, 33', 34 and 35, making thedesired adjustment and thereafter tightening the set screws.

The guide bars, supporthig arms, and side bars can be made, for example,from one half inch thin wall conduit or any other suitable material, theentire unit having such dimensions that it will fit the tank.

In operation, the individual birds suspended by their legs from theconveyor are first immersed in a conventional scald tank with a watertemperature of 122-126 F. for a period of 60 to seconds. This scaldingoperation has been found sufficient to prepare most of the body feathersfor the picking operation without any deleterious effect to the skin ofthe poultry. After being removed from this first scald, the birdsproceed to the head-neck-wing scald unit. As the birds approach thisscald unit, shown in the drawings, they move into engagement with theupwardly and outwardly flared end portions 19 and 20' of the guide bars17 and 1'8. These flared end portions serve as means to align the birdinto proper position between the guide bars and, because they areflared, provide an opening of greater dimension than that between theguide bars to allow the head, neck and wings of the bird to dip into theheated liquid.

When poultry are suspended in an inverted position, the natural tendencyof the wings is to extend outwardly in a more or less horizontal planewith respect to the substantially vertically positioned body. Using myapparatus, the guide bars exert a force in the wing-pit area of thebird, causing the wings to assume a position almost parallel with thelength of the body of the bird, thus assuring that the entire wing Willcome into contact with the heated liquid. The birds proceed through theheadneck-wing scald unit for a period ranging from to 20 seconds, with awater temperature of from l40-l45 F. The speed of the conveyor systemshould be so regulated that the birds will travel through thehead-neck-wing scald unit for the desired period of time. The guide barshave outwardly flared end portions 36 and 37 at the outgoing end of thescald unit to provide for the release of the wings after the applicationof the selective scald. After the application of this selective scald,the birds pass onto a conventional mechanical picker wherein a pluralityof flexible rubber picking fingers stroke the carcass to remove all thefeathers.

In practice the height of this selective scald unit, with the guide barassembly attached, is adjusted so that the unit (guide bars) will makecontact in the wing-pit area of the smallest sized poultry beingprocessed. Of course, when larger poultry are processed, adjustments ofthe guide bars may be made, yet this has been found to be lusuallyunnecessary. Any tendency for the larger birds to sink deeper into thewater is prevented by the guide bars, which support the main body of thepoultry and prevent the breast area from making contact with the hotwater, and at the same time exerting pressure on the wing-pit area ofthe birds so as to maintain the head, neck and wing portion beneath thesurface of the liquid.

While in the foregoing specification various embodiments of thisinvention have been set forth and specific details thereof elaborated,it will be apparent that many changes and modifications may be madewithout departing from the spirit of the invention.

I claim:

1. A method of treating poultry comprising, suspending said poultry byits legs, passing the head-neck-wing portion of said poultry through abody of liquid while the poultry is so suspended, and exerting pressureon the Wing-pit area of said poultry to maintain said head-neckwingportion beneath the surface of said liquid during the passage of saidportion through said liquid.

2. A method of treating poultry comprising, suspending said poultry byits legs, passing the head-neck-wing portion of said poultry through abody of heated liquid while the poultry is so suspended, and pressingdownwardly on the wing-pit area of said poultry to maintain saidhead-neck-wing portion beneath the surface of said liquid during thepassage of said portion through said liquid.

3. A method of treating poultry comprising, suspending said poultry byits legs, passing the head-neck-wing portion of said poultry through abody of heated liquid having a temperature within the range of 140 F.-l

F. while the poultry is so suspended, and pressing downwardly on thewing-pit area of said poultry to maintain No references cited.

1. A METHOD OF TREATING POULTRY COMPRISING, SUSPENDING SAID POULTRY BYITS LEGS, PASSING THE HEAD-NECK-WING PORTION OF SAID POULTRY THROUGH ABODY OF LIQUID WHILE THE POULTRY IS SO SUSPENDED, AND EXERTING PRESSUREON THE WING-PIT AREA OF SAID POULTRY TO MAINTAIN SAID HEAD-NECKWINGPORTION BENEATH THE SURFACE OF SAID LIQUID DURING THE PASSAGE OF SAIDPORTION THROUGH SAID LIQUID.